organic hydro nutrients?

[oTOMMYo]

Hello.

Im using chemical feed at the moment for my hydro and would like to go all organic...iv heard its easier with no ph problems or worry of over feeding and a much healthier plant.

But i honesty don't know where to start..

Is there a simple way to do it without a load of tea making( which i don't mind messing about with)....and having a good home for the good bacteria.

Thank you.

All info would be much appreciated.

[e_deher]

nutrients&sprefix=organic+hydr%2Caps%2C284" target="_blank">Amazon.com: organic hydroponic nutrients

[oTOMMYo]

Originally Posted by helloman1976

Organic nutrients are a nightmare and a total mess. They are difficult to clean up, smell and rot easily in less than ideal conditions. They clog up drippers and emitters quickly and are just all-around less than ideal in my opinion for these reason.

You'd have to make very strong tea in order to go all organic. Generally speaking the tea, like earth worm casting tea, doesnt provide much nutrition and you don't know exactly what is or isn't in there. It also takes the plants more energy to break down the nutrients in order to use them making for less than ideal growth.

I'd stick with nutrient salts and I'd make sure I used the sterile hydro method and avoid putting ANYTHING living in my reservoir or you are sure to have major root issues if you don't keep your reservoir temps below 68F-ish. Hope that helps.

So you recommend sticking to chems and not using beneficial bacteria?

[oTOMMYo]

Originally Posted by helloman1976

That's correct. I highly recommend starting out with RO water and using nutrient salts, what you're calling "chems". The salts are not able to be broken down by bacteria, that's not what they eat and can actually kill them much like a snail and salt. The two are not really compatible, yes there are exceptions. This is a tired conversation amongst gardeners however because both ways work given they are within the variables need to make them work so both sides will argue who's is better etc.

Look at it from this standpoint. Do you want a bunch of living organisms floating around in your nutrient salts hoping they live long enough to be able to attach themselves to something organic like roots or falling leaf matter in the reservoir and if they don't live then they die and create root rot and root slime breading havens 100% of the time? Also, do you want to clean up the biological mess they create with every nutrient change out and continuously have to buy new airstones because that's the only place these living organisms can safely grow in your reservoir?

Or look at it this way. Do you want to use clean nutrient salts that create no mess, are readily available and chelated and can be custom tailored to your plants exact needs? Also, when you do nutrient change outs using the sterile method there isn't anything to clean because everything comes out sparkling new. Your plants have no competition from anything living in your nutrient reservoir eating up your nutrient salts, things like bacteria and slime and molds and so on or algae etc etc.

Check out DutchMaster's Zone and read up on h202 in nutrient reservoirs. You will encounter people who are hard-core about beneficials and people who are against it for the reasons above. Sterile hydro is the only way to go in my opinion and it's the cleanest and cheapest, you dont have to buy expensive biologicals. My 2 cents...

i totally see where you coming from with sterile way. I know what h²0² is and have used it once before to clear a small problem , but using it all the time is something i may consider after abit more research ( but i do understand your side completely )....... If i was to go down the sterile way how much and how often would i use 9% h²0² in a 25 ltr res ?...
Also ..i don't need RO water.

Thanks oTOMMYo

[oTOMMYo]

Originally Posted by helloman1976

I recommend the food grade h202 29% stuff, I get it from Amazon.com. I use it at about 3ml per gallon and if there's an issue i've used it as high as 5ml per gallon but only for flushing etc as that MAY burn plant roots etc if you leave it in there. h202 turns into water and oxygen, both are positives for your plants. In low oxygen reservoirs, ie reservoirs with high temps, adding more oxygen is a huge boon. It doesn't last long, maybe 24 to 48 hours bit it'll set back anything trying to grow in your res. DutchMaster Zone is something like chlorine, like in pools, that helps prevent algae and other things. I use Zone and h202 together with no issues, Zone at 2ml per gallon and h202 at 3ml per gallon. I do NOT add anything living so no enzymes or beneficials at all.

If you can keep your reservoir temps down below 65F and above 55F then beneficials may be the way to go for you otherwise sterile is the way to go. Going with beneficials is more mess to clean up and your results will be higher production but not by much so it's not worth the extra months of trouble and cleaning. Think it through, see what makes sense for you and go that way. Do a test run with both side by side and see which you like in the end. Matter of fact, you should start a grow journal on here and we'll see what happens with your side-by-side test.

You mentioned having my water chilled, iv got a chiller and my water is at 16-17°c ........so would i be best just using h²0² twice a week at 3ml/ gallon.

[oTOMMYo]

Originally Posted by helloman1976

If you have a water chiller that's fantastic and if you can keep your water temps that low as well as keep the light out of your reservoir you should be good-to-go. It doesn't hurt to still run the h202 even at that temp, it'll just keep everything really, really clean in your pipes, ducts, sprayers and so on so you'll basically never have to clean up very much as little will survive the h202. The Zone is important for conditioning the water for a long term picture and I highly recommend running that. If I were you I'd run Zone and that's it since you have the chiller. Buy the h202 but use it to clean everything as it leaves no residue and breaks down into water and oxygen unlike bleach and such which leave residue behind. If you want to go with just the h202 then you'll have to add more every 72 hours or so.

One more thing, please be careful with the food grade h202 29% as it'll eat your skin off and bleach your skin pure white like a snowflake. Wear gloves!

I think im converted.
I made a mistake last grow useing a clear plastic tube from my bucket and it let the light in but iv learnt a lesson and i think im going for the sterile way of hydro....thanks

[oTOMMYo]

Originally Posted by helloman1976

You won't look back my friend. You'll be SO happy you didn't go organic lol. Organics are great for soil, so are beneficials and fungi and so on but hydro needs to be CLEAN. You'll enjoy not having to clean up as much as well as more margin of error if you do let light in your res or let leaves sit in there etc. Just try to keep the res light proof and free of anything organic that can break down...usually leaves and things that fall. Good luck!

Hi again.

Im definitely going down the sterile road after a bit more read up but someone said that you can use good 100% bleach? Not the lemon or blue stuff just pure bleach ( o.5 ml/g ) every 2-3 days ?

Iv done abit of reading on it and people have been telling me bleach is chlorine and say plants actually uptake chlorine?....... Is this true.?


The thing is i go on other hydro forums but the answers to some of my questions can quickly get drowned by just general forum chit chat and jokes.lol.

This is why i came to a smaller more professional site with alittle more maturity ( i think lol )........ Im just on the fence about the bleach as to whether its true or my fellow forum buddies are just messing with me.lol.....im thinking its good to go with bleach ??.